MOREHEAD, Ky. – Senior Taylor Hawks had a team-high 17 points and led a major second-half surge that helped the Jacksonville State women's basketball team beat Morehead State, 69-56, on the road Saturday afternoon for the Gamecocks' fourth-straight victory.
 
JSU (6-2, 3-1 Ohio Valley Conference) knocked off the Eagles (2-6, 1-3 OVC) for the first time in four meetings, and in the process, solidified JSU's best start to a season since 2014-15.
 
One game after a quartet of Gamecocks scored in double figures, a JSU trio each had at least 16. Hawks led with 17, while senior Kiana Johnson and sophomore Nekiyah Thompson both had 16. Thompson, in a career-high effort, was responsible for keeping JSU in the game early as the Gamecocks suffered offensive woes.
 
Freshman Keiara Griffin finished with eight points and six rebounds as the fourth-leading scorer in the first game of the year where Yamia Johnson was held below double-digits. Jessie Day posted a new season mark with 13 rebounds, followed by Kennedy Gavin with seven boards.
 
JSU couldn't get anything going at the start of the game as MSU quickly controlled things with a 6-1 lead. The Gamecocks shot just 2-for-18 in the first quarter, resulting in their lowest output of any quarter this season with just five points.
 
The Eagles led 12-5 at the start of the second period when a couple of much-needed triples from Thompson and Day fell for JSU to pull within 14-11 of MSU. Senior Jayla Walker joined Thompson with a couple of key second-quarter buckets to keep JSU close, the Huntsville, Ala., native finished with four points, an assist and a rebound. MSU led for more than 15 of the first 20 minutes of action. Thompson briefly gave JSU a 21-19 lead following her second first-half three-pointer, but the Eagles managed to come back to take a 24-23 lead into the half.
 
A different-looking Gamecock squad returned to the floor following the break, and opened the third on a 7-0 run which forced an Eagle timeout. After just one first-half point, Hawks had 14 of her 17 come in the third period to help fuel a 27-point quarter for JSU.
 
The Eagles successfully kept Yamia Johnson, the OVC's fourth-leading scorer entering the day, out of the scoring column until a three-ball late in the third. Johnson finished with five points and two boards.
 
JSU extended the lead to double digits early in the fourth at 52-41, and hardly looked back pushing the margin to as many as 16 following Thompson's final free throw.
 
The strong second-half after a sluggish start marked the first win for JSU when trailing at the half since Nov. 12, 2019 against Lipscomb.